Two States Or Bust

The same people who argue for a one-state bi-national solution frequently assert that because of Israeli settlement activity, a two-state solution is “impossible.” But this impossibility depends entirely on the assumption that Israel will be allowed to get its way in keeping whatever territory it has substantially settled. And that assumption logically precludes a one-state bi-national solution as well. After all, if Israel cannot be pressured into surrendering Ma’ale Adumim to a future Palestinian state, then why should we assume it can be pressured into surrendering Tel Aviv? Wouldn’t the former be much more acceptable in any plausible universe?

Yes, but Netanyahu does not live in a plausible universe. And neither alas does the American Jewish Establishment who consistently refuse to take the settlements on.

(Photo: The E1 settlement area (L) is seen across from the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim, on December 9, 2012. Israel has approved the building of 3,000 settler homes on the patch of land; a development that has been on hold for years due to pressure from the US and EU. Should the construction go ahead it would close off East Jerusalem from the West Bank. By Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)